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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

One of my favorite seasonal drinks is Silk brand Pumpkin Spice. It tastes similar to eggnog with a subtle pumpkin flavor. I was really looking forward to picking up a carton while grocery shopping last week. Sadly, I have not been able to find it. So what's a girl to do?! Make my own, I guess! I started with an easy eggnog recipe, then added some canned pumpkin puree until I was pleased with the flavor. It tastes great! I'm looking forward to making it again.

Ingredients6 egg yolks1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin1 teaspoon vanilla extract4 1/2 cups milk1/4 teaspoon ground nutmegDirectionsIn a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until they are thickened and light. Gradually stir in condensed milk, pumpkin, vanilla and milk. Stir nutmeg into the mixture. Pour all ingredients into blender and mix. Pour into glasses, and garnish with nutmeg.*Use caution when consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illnesses. To reduce this risk, it is recommended that you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell. Pregnant women, young children, the elderly should not consume raw eggs. source

Monday, November 28, 2011

I hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with your families. My family and I enjoyed a pleasant meal together. The highlight of our night was "skyping" with my family in NJ. Skype is the coolest thing ever! It felt as though we were right there in NJ enjoying each others company.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is only weeks away I thought I would do a little crafting and make a few stockings for my family. I found a great tutorial online, instead of making my own template I used a leftover stocking from last year for my pattern.

For my daughter's stocking, I kept it simple and added a flower using leftover fabric and a name tag made from muslin. I added her name using rubber stamps.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Growing in my yard is a Sweet Gum tree. Sweet Gum trees produce these prickly little balls (“Sweet Gum fruit”). Those prickly little balls are everywhere in my yard! This week instead of raking them into a pile, I went outside and gathered a bag full to create a wreath.

To construct my wreath, I started with a simple wreath form purchased for a dollar.

Then using my glue gun, I attached the prickly fruit to the wreath form starting from the inside and working my way out.

Once completed, I attached a saw tooth hanger to the backside, again using my glue gun.

Here it is my friends!

I love the texture of the wreath.

I kept things simple to focus on the natural beauty of the Sweet Gum fruit.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Also the kitchen cabinets are finally done! The rest of the molding(moulding) was installed over the weekend and I finished painting/caulking this morning. I am really excited to have my kitchen back in order after living with a mess for almost 2 months. I ordered some fabric for curtains, but I'm not sure if I love my choice. So before I can "reveal" my kitchen I need to tweak a few things!

Although it's been raining like crazy this morning, yesterday we had some beautiful weather and I was able to get outside spray paint my daughter's bed. I'll have a post ready soon with her "new to us" bed!

Finally, In addition to working on my kitchen, I also updated our second bathroom. This was probably the most painstaking project to date for me. I assumed because it was such a small space that it would be a cinch to paint and hang wallpaper. Boy was I wrong! But the hard part is over and now I am enjoying adding some new accessories! This is what I've come up with so far!

And here's what it looked like before!

I ordered some fabric samples because I'm feeling courageous and might attempt to make my own shower curtain. But if I have better luck finding something in the stores that I like better, then I'll just purchase one.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The kitchen is far from done, but we've been making great progress! I wanted to share with you what we've accomplished so far with the cabinets.

The molding around the cabinets makes such a huge difference, that I think I'm going to leave the handles off!

I never cared much for those handles so they won't be missed! I'm hoping we can finish up this weekend, but my friend has a busy schedule, so we'll see how things go! Take care my friends and I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Biscoff cookies are a favorite in my house. I was first introduced to the cookies many years ago, while flying with Delta. Since then, I have been able to purchase them regularly from the grocery store.

Recently while shopping I came across Biscoff Spread. I purchased a jar hoping it would taste just as good as the cookies. Talk about heaven in a jar! It has the consistency of peanut butter, but tastes exactly like those delicious cookies you get when you fly with Delta. My family and I enjoyed it as a dip for apples, even as a substitute for Nutella in our indoor s'mores. But we enjoyed it most as a warm drink! I have a feeling this will become a regular treat this winter.

Ingredients:

2 cups of milk
2-3 tablespoons of Biscoff Spread

Directions:
1. Pour milk and Biscoff Spread in a small saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until Biscoff Spread and milk are completely blended.
3. Pour into a mug and drink while warm.
4. Garnish with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

At the end of September I blogged about the huge mess in my kitchen. Since then there have been a few changes. The flooring has been replaced, new fabric has been ordered for curtains and the cabinets have been prepped for painting. My husband and I along with our dear friend are doing all of the work. Progress has been slow, but steady.

I'm really looking forward to updating the cabinets. They are my least. favorite. thing. in. the. entire. house. In addition to painting them, we will be adding some molding to spruce them up a bit. So please be patient with me my friends, as we work to get the kitchen back in order. I'm hoping things will be done soon, since we're hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house. In the meantime, I'll be back soon with a recipe to share!

PS. My daughter and I agreed on color for her bed! So I'll be making a trip to Home Depot soon for some white paint! Her room is green, white and pink! I was hoping she'd agree to pink, but since I got tired of begging it's her room, white it is!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I was head over heels in love with this pillow after seeing it on Pinterest, but $45 was way more than I wanted to spend. So I decided to create my own for a lot less!

To get started I purchased a few craft supplies.

Then after cutting the fabric(muslin) to size, I ironed out all the wrinkles.

I sewed around the outline of the fabric making sure to leave a small opening so I could fill the pillow with stuffing. Then I turned the pillow right side out.

Using a round object,

I traced the wreath shape onto the fabric.

Using my glue gun, I added the felt leaves. Although having the pre-cut leaves helped out tremendously this was the most time consuming part. Listening to music while you work helps! Keep adding leaves until your satisfied. Then fill in some of the empty holes with the cotton ball trim. Add stuffing and close the opening.

Here is the finished pillow!

I love my pillow and I hope you do too! To see last year's holiday pillow click here.

About Me

Hello, I'm Brandi, a married mother of two. After months of checking in on other blogs I decided to create my own, in hopes of showcasing my creativity and inspiring others to do the same. Thank-you for taking the time to stop by!

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